Image credit: David Madison
We're Restoring Montana's First High School
Creating Space & Programming for Working Artists
The old schoolhouse in Virginia City is currently being leased by longtime Madison County residents Jim and Sheri Jarvis for development as a future working artists facility. The historic 1876 building, owned by Madison County, has been vacant for the past 15 years due to structural concerns associated with its age and damage sustained from the 1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake. Much of the initial damage was repaired during the 1960s and the building continued as the local schoolhouse until the 1970s, when it finally closed due to declining enrollment.
Since then, it has been used to house various municipal and county government offices and most recently for cold storage of miscellaneous odds-and-ends owned by the county, Town of Virginia City, and various local groups. These items, ranging from obsolete computer equipment, discarded furniture, and books and documents, both old and new, fill most of the building. In many ways it has been the “community attic” for over 50 years.
Like many historic buildings in Virginia City, in its current condition uses for the building are limited. As Montana’s first and oldest high school and a significant architectural feature within the Virginia City National Historic Landmark, the building is clearly worthy of preservation. A non-profit organization – the Virginia City Schoolhouse Foundation, has been created to lead the fundraising and renovation effort.
Since then, it has been used to house various municipal and county government offices and most recently for cold storage of miscellaneous odds-and-ends owned by the county, Town of Virginia City, and various local groups. These items, ranging from obsolete computer equipment, discarded furniture, and books and documents, both old and new, fill most of the building. In many ways it has been the “community attic” for over 50 years.
Like many historic buildings in Virginia City, in its current condition uses for the building are limited. As Montana’s first and oldest high school and a significant architectural feature within the Virginia City National Historic Landmark, the building is clearly worthy of preservation. A non-profit organization – the Virginia City Schoolhouse Foundation, has been created to lead the fundraising and renovation effort.
